Why, then, is it so impossible for an ugly female protagonist to exist in our culture? Why must 14-year-old Hermione Granger have a Cinderella moment at the Yule Ball, when she has so many other qualities to recommend her?

Who wanted to be Lizzie Bennet? Not me, aged 10, that's for sure. I wanted to be elder sister Jane, who was beautiful and good. She thought the best of everyone, even when Miss Bingley was being a total cow. Even then, I felt dimly, this was going to be beyond me, and therefore something to aspire to.